<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Bruce knows how to swim, and he is will swim up the entire Nile if he has to. Too bad Jason has other plans by arrowupmysleeve</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29981898">Bruce knows how to swim, and he is will swim up the entire Nile if he has to. Too bad Jason has other plans</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrowupmysleeve/pseuds/arrowupmysleeve'>arrowupmysleeve</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Batlanternweek 2021 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BatLantern Week 2k21, Clark Kent is here, M/M, Mentioned Tim Drake, but only through text, prompt: Fake/pretend relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:28:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,179</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29981898</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrowupmysleeve/pseuds/arrowupmysleeve</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Text from Clark K at 10.45:<br/>I know you're awake, B😡</p><p>Text from Clark K at 10. 46:<br/>I can hear you chewing😒 Pick up.😠😠</p><p>The last text makes Bruce pause. He knows Clark can't see him, but he turns to glare in the direction of Metropolis anyway and takes a large bite of his toast. And if he is chewing a little louder than usual, well, no one is here to call him out on it.</p><p>Text from Clark K at 10.47:<br/>Real mature, B😡 You know I can't stand that sound!😒</p><p>Text from Clark K at 10.51:<br/>You need to call Hal. He must be freaking out right now.😱</p><p>Bruce ignores the text. Just like he has ignored all the others and reaches for the Gotham Gazette's sports section, it seems the Gotham knights lost the game this weekend and that they are considering a trade with the Star City team. Bruce continues to read as the tv drones on in the background at a low volume.</p><p>"Morning, B." Jason greets as he enters the kitchen and takes the seat. The grin in his voice is audible, and Bruce almost wines. Jason has most definitely seen the news.</p><p>"Good morning, Jason," Bruce responds without looking up from his paper. His phone starts ringing, and Bruce glances at the caller id. It's Clark, again.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Batlanternweek 2021 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>245</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Batlantern Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bruce knows how to swim, and he is will swim up the entire Nile if he has to. Too bad Jason has other plans</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>Text from Clark K at 08.30:</strong><br/>
<strong>Have you 👀 the Gotham Gazette?</strong></p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 08.39:</strong><br/>
<strong>Call me when you have 👀 </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 09.02:</strong><br/>
<strong>Tim can't say that on live tv 😱 Doesn't he realize how that sounds.😩</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 09.06:</strong><br/>
<strong>Okay, I know you're probably not up yet, but you need to talk to Tim. I can't believe I have to say this, but you need to have him work in situational awareness.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 10.09:</strong><br/>
<strong>Have you talked to Hal yet?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 10.23:</strong><br/>
<strong>Pick up😠😠😠</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 10.45:</strong><br/>
<strong>I know you're awake, B😡</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 10. 46:</strong><br/>
<strong>I can hear you chewing😒 Pick up.😠😠</strong>
</p><p>The last text makes Bruce pause. He knows Clark can't see him, but he turns to glare in the direction of Metropolis anyway and takes a large bite of his toast. And if he is chewing a little louder than usual, well, no one is here to call him out on it.</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 10.47:</strong><br/>
<strong>Real mature, B😡 You know I can't stand that sound!😒</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 10.51:</strong><br/>
<strong>You need to call Hal. He must be freaking out right now.😱</strong>
</p><p>Bruce ignores the text. Just like he has ignored all the others and reaches for the Gotham Gazette's sports section, it seems the Gotham knights lost the game this weekend and that they are considering a trade with the Star City team. Bruce continues to read as the tv drones on in the background at a low volume.</p><p>"Morning, B." Jason greets as he enters the kitchen and takes the seat. The grin in his voice is audible, and Bruce almost wines. Jason has most definitely seen the news.</p><p>"Good morning, Jason," Bruce responds without looking up from his paper. His phone starts ringing, and Bruce glances at the caller id. It's Clark, again. </p><p>Bruce ignores it.</p><p>"What are you reading there, B?" Jason asks as the phone goes silent. Bruce holds up the front of the paper for Jason to read but doesn't answer. He knows a trap when he sees one.</p><p>"Cool, then you don't mind me taking the gossip section?" Jason doesn't wait for a response. He leans over the table and grabs the papers, and sits back down.</p><p>"One of Gotham's most eligible bachelors, no longer on the market? See the scandalous pictures." Jason reads in his best newscaster voice. "It looks like someone got caught with their pants down." He grins at Bruce, who can't hide his wince.</p><p>That had been, almost word for word, what Bruce had said when he saw the headline this morning. He had smirked at an unimpressed Alfred who had unfolded the paper and handed it to him. "That would be you, Master Bruce."</p><p>Jason turns back to the paper and opens it to the relevant pages to continue the story. "Wow, is that Hal Jordan? Almost didn't recognize him in that suit." Jason lets out a long low whistle. "He looks good. Have you seen this, B?" </p><p>He holds up the pictures for Bruce, and since he has already seen them, Bruce keeps his head down and attention to last night's recap of the Knights game. The best thing to do is ignore Jason. </p><p>Huffing, Jason shakes his head and lays the paper flat on the table to read the accompanying article. And if the paper is positioned so that Bruce can clearly see the pictures from where he is sitting, he is sure that is just a coincidence. He glances at the pictures anyway.</p><p>Jason is right; of course, Hal had looked amazing in that suit, but the headline is an exaggeration. The pictures are not that scandalous. One of them is just Bruce and Hal standing together. Granted, they are looking deep into each other's eyes, with their faces very close together, and if you didn't know any better, you could say that they were about to kiss, but Bruce does know better. He remembers the moment well. </p><p>He had just told Hal about the facial recognition lenses he was wearing, and Hal had called bullshit. "No bullshit." Bruce grins. "You can see the edge of them around my iris." And so Hal had leaned in to see, and someone had taken the picture. An easy and simple explanation.</p><p>The second one was a little harder to explain, if only to himself and to anyone who happened to know him well.</p><p>In the picture, Bruce is leaning back against the bar, while Hal is standing firmly within Bruce's personal space, and from this angle, you can clearly see the soft smile on Bruce's face as he looks at Hal as he talks.</p><p>Had Bruce come across these pictures in an investigation, he would have said that the two people in the picture were in love. </p><p>But they are not.</p><p>The third and fourth pictures are the most incriminating ones.</p><p>They show Bruce leading Hal- his hand very, very low on Hal's back- out of the hotel and into a car. </p><p>Again, the explanation is an easy one. There had been an emergency at the League, and Bruce had left the party to deal with it. And since Hal was also there, he had joined Bruce in his escape.</p><p>But in the pictures…. in the pictures, it looks like the two of them are going home together.</p><p>Bruce looks back down at the sports section. The pictures in themself mean nothing, and without any more evidence, this story would have gone away with a simple statement.</p><p>"Hey, look, it's Tim," Jason exclaims and reaches for the remote to turn up the sound on the TV. Bruce very carefully does not grit his teeth.</p><p>Enter Tim. </p><p>Tim, who had also been caught up in the emergency at the League. Tim, who had not slept in days and was probably on his fifth cup of coffee that morning. Tim, who had gotten these pictures shoved in his face by a reporter on his way into Waye Enterprise and had immediately begun info-dumping.</p><p>The interview, if it can even be called that, has been replayed every hour, on the hour, since it went live, and Bruce has seen it twice so far, and in his humble opinion, it was not great.</p><p>On the TV, the interviewer stops Tim outside the door, shoves the pictures in his face, and asks if he knows who Brucie's boyfriend is. Tim takes the photographs and blinks at them. </p><p><em>"Oh, that's Hal. A good swimmer for an airforce guy. Nice abs. Interesting tattoo, not what I would have expected, and a surprisingly good cook.</em>" Tim tilts his head to the side as he looks through the pictures.<em> "He is also good with kids. There was this on time</em>, <em>with Damian-</em>" Tim cuts himself off. His head snaps up, and he looks back and forth between the camera guy and the reporter as he suddenly realizes who he is talking to. "<em>Is this live?"</em></p><p>The broadcast had indeed been live, and even as Tim had refused any further comments, the hosts of the morning show had spent the rest of the show talking about Brucie Wayne and what it meant for his mystery boyfriend to have met his kids.</p><p>"Bruce, you sly dog," Jason says as he turns to grin at him. "Are you dating Hal? Without telling me? I feel offended." The grin on Jason's face only widens as Bruce glares at him.</p><p>Luckily, Bruce is saved from answering Jason's question as his phone rings, and Bruce jumps on the distraction. Even if it means he has to talk to Clark about this. He glances at the caller id and freezes. </p><p>It's not Clark. He answers the phone anyway.</p><p> "Good morning, Hal." </p><p>Jason's eyes light up when he realizes who it is, and he leans forward over the table, grinning at Bruce.</p><p>"Hey B, it's- How did you know it was me?" Hal asks.</p><p>"I know how to read caller id," Bruce comments. He glares at Jason and hopes the warning is enough to keep Jason quiet. Hal sounds stressed, and there is no need to add Jason's shenanigans to that. Jason raises his hands in defeat and sits back down, but his eyes are still sharp as they track Bruce's movements.</p><p>"Wait, you have my number? I had to call Clark to get yours!" Hal sounds outraged, and well, that would explain why Clark stopped trying to contact him. </p><p>"I have everyone's number," Bruce says. He ignores Jason's eyes roll. "What do you want, Hal?"</p><p>There is a long silence. "I just got woken up by a call from a reporter asking me about- asking about our relationship."</p><p>"Have you seen the Gotham Gazette?" Bruce asks softly.</p><p>"Yeah, I saw the interview too." Hal sounds miserable, and Bruce winces.</p><p>"For what it's worth, Tim is sorry about that."</p><p>"I figured, but B, that's not-" Hal groans. "The reporters are gonna start digging into this. What if they find out about the GL corps. I can't have them putting my family in danger, and I don't want to leave earth."</p><p>There is a lump in his throat, making it hard for him to speak, but Bruce pushes through it. "We'll find a way to distract from it."</p><p>"How?" Hal exclaims. Then he groans. "And now I to explain to Carol why a sixteen-year-old knows about my tattoo-"</p><p>"You have a tattoo?" Bruce blinks at the wall. In the corner of his eye, he can see Jason wheezing silently with laughter.</p><p>"I- Yes," Hal sounds unsure. "He got that from your file, didn't he?"</p><p>"No," Bruce drags out the word. "Tim has his own information network."</p><p>"Tim is the family stalker!" Jason shouts in explanation and leans forward. He ignores Bruce's glare and continues. "Hey, put me on speaker. I have an idea!"</p><p>Bruce glares harder, but Hal seems open to the idea, so Bruce complies.</p><p>"So here's the thing. Reporters are lazy, we give them a narrative, and they will run with it." Jason grins and looks from Bruce to the phone and back. "I say we lean into the narrative they have already created and use it to our advantage."</p><p>"That's-" Bruce cuts himself off and thinks it through. That's not a terrible plan, actually, (that title still goes to Clark for the suggestion to move the earth out of danger and then put it back), and they have done something similar in the past, but what Jason is proposing- what Jason is suggesting is-</p><p>"You want us to pretend we are dating?" Hal asks in disbelief. "You want us to fake a relationship so we can avoid public scrutiny and hide the real reason we were together?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>There is a long pause.</p><p>"Bruce, please tell your kid that this is insane."</p><p>Bruce does no such thing. </p><p>"You have got to be kidding me! Why do you think it would be a good idea?" Hal asks.</p><p>"Trying to downplay it would just make people more curious, and Jason is correct; reporters are lazy." Bruce's phone lights up with an incoming text.</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 11.06:</strong><br/>
<strong>I'm not lazy,😭 Btw this is an amazing plan! Go for it😏😆😁</strong>
</p><p>"Clark, pull your nose out of my business." Bruce stifles the urge to turn and glare at Metropolis. "If I needed your input, I would ask you."</p><p>"Is Clark there?" Hal asks. He sounds unsure again.</p><p>"No," Bruce admits. "But he is listening to the conversation when he should be at work."</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 11.07:</strong><br/>
<strong>I am at work, I can multitask 😁</strong>
</p><p>There is silence from Hal over the phone. </p><p>"Hal, are you still there?"</p><p>"I'm here. I'm just-" Hal sighs loudly. "Give me one good reason I should agree to this."</p><p>"One? Let me give you a few!" Jason leans forward and snatches the phone off the table. He doesn't turn off the speaker, but he holds it away so Bruce can't reach it. "First of all, you're gonna have Bruce dress you up and take you out to all the fancy restaurants. What you do with the clothes and such afterward is up to you. This might not sound appealing, but you have not experienced the food at some of the good restaurants here in Gotham. Secondly, Bruce owns an island, a private island the two of you can retreat to if you want." </p><p>"I do not own an island," Bruce protest.</p><p>"Yeah, and whose fault is that? It's not like you don't have the money. And," Jason glances up at Bruce, and he actually looks a little remorseful. "You get free room and board for as long as you want."</p><p>Bruce frowns at him. What on earth is he talking about?</p><p>"I don't-" Hal begins, but Jason continues.</p><p>"Honestly, how many billionaires do you know, and whose couch are you sleeping on? When you could have not only your own bed but your own room." Jason holds his eyes as Bruce reaches over the table and snatches his phone out of Jason's hands. He disengages the speakers, stands up from the table, and brings the phone back up to his ear.</p><p>"I would like to offer an apology for Jason's behavior," Bruce says, and Hal snorts. "And also, what is he talking about?"</p><p>Hal stays silent for a long second. "My apartment flooded, and since I was with the GL Corps, I didn't notice. My landlord had to break down the door to get to it." Hal hesitates, and Bruce keeps quiet. "According to my lease, a catastrophic incident is grounds enough to break the contract."</p><p>Bruce rubs at his eyes. "So when you came home, you found yourself homeless."</p><p>"Yeah." There is a wealth of meaning in that word.</p><p>His phone vibrates with another incoming text, but Bruce ignores it. He knows what it says already. There has been more than one conversation between him, Clark, and Diana about Hal, and how he is slipping away from the League and at what point Hal just won't return to earth. </p><p>"You should have said something, if not to me, then to someone else in the League. We care about you," Bruce says. He gets nothing but silence in return. So Bruce keeps talking. "If you want, you can stay at the manor while you look for a new place. I have the room."</p><p>"And in return, I pretend to be your boyfriend?" Hal jokes, but Bruce doesn't laugh.</p><p>"No, we can find another way out of that situation. There are no strings attached to this offer."</p><p>"I don't- Hold on, I just got a text." There is the faint sound of choking as Hal reads it.</p><p>"Hal?" Bruce asks.</p><p>"Why did I just get a text from Clark saying that having you as a sugar daddy is not that bad?" Hal asks, and Bruce feels his face heat up.</p><p>"I-" Bruce licks his lips. "Clark-" He runs a hand down his face. "That motherfucker."</p><p>"Holy shit, I thought he was joking!" Hal exclaims.</p><p>"He is!" Bruce protests. "But…"</p><p>"But?" Hal repeats back to him.</p><p>"I technically own the Daily Planet," Bruce offers.</p><p>"Okay, that doesn't-"</p><p>"And the apartment building he lives in."</p><p>"Okay." Hal drages the word out. "That's- That's something."</p><p>"And when his parents lost the farm, I got it back for them." Bruce's ears are burning.</p><p>"So you bought the farm and gave it back." Hal muses. "That's nice of you."</p><p>"I bought the bank."</p><p>There is a long silence again. "Excuse you. You did what?"</p><p>"I bought the bank and gave them their farm back," Bruce looks up at the ceiling. "And I'm financing the JL, so I'm very integrated into Clark's life."</p><p>"Give me a second," Hal tells him and puts down the phone. The sound of laughter filters through the speakers, and Bruce can't help but smile a little. It takes a minute, but then Hal is back on the line. "Okay, what the hell. Let's go through with Jason's plan."</p><p>"You don't have to," Bruce says.</p><p>"No, no. It's fine." Hal says the grin is still audible in his voice. "I could go for some fancy food right now. I'll be at the manor after work."</p><p>Bruce hums as they say goodby, and then he turns to glare at Jason. </p><p>"You." Bruce levels a finger at him. "You planned this."</p><p>Jason puts a hand to his chest and gives him his most offended look. "I planned for <em>you</em> to get caught sneaking out of a party with Hal?" He raises an eyebrow at him. "And then I planned for <em>Tim</em> to be an idiot on live TV?" Jason shakes his head and stands up. "You overestimate my planning ability. I usually go in guns blazing. I'm no Timothy." And then he walks out of the room.</p><p>Bruce watches him go, still with the sneaking suspicion he just got played.</p><p>--</p><p>
  <strong>Text from Clark K at 17.07:</strong><br/>
<strong>Hal's almost there.😁😏</strong>
</p><p>Bruce glances at the text, sighs, and heads out onto the porch. He looks out across the sky in the direction of Coast City, and even as he's looking, Bruce doesn't spot Hal before he drops down from the sky. He lands in the backyard, lets the Green Lantern uniform fade away, and saunters up to the stairs. "Hello, honey, I'm home." </p><p>Bruce ignores how the words warm his chest and respond in kind. "Welcome home, darling."</p><p>Hal grins and bounds up the last couple of steps. "I think we kind of messed this up already."</p><p>"How so?" Bruce slides his hands into his pockets and looks Hal over. He looks good, as always.</p><p>"I think it's supposed to be the other away. You're the one that's supposed to be working while I stay home, looking pretty."</p><p>"You saying I look pretty?" Bruce smirks at Hal.</p><p>"Please, don't act like you're unaware of how you look," Hal says and rolls his eyes. "So, when are we going out to eat? I was promised fancy food and nice clothes."</p><p>Bruce turns and holds the door open for him. "Let me show you your room first. Then we can talk about it."</p><p>Hal grins and steps into the manor. "Aww, are you embarrassed to be seen with your boyfriend?"</p><p>"I regularly act like a fool and spill drinks all over myself," Bruce says as he leads the way up the stairs and down a hall. "I have grown out of embarrassment." He pointedly ignores the conversation earlier this morning.</p><p>The room Bruce leads Hal to is in the manor's private wing and only a couple of doors down from Bruce's own room. </p><p>"You know, this place might be bigger than my former apartment," Hal comments as he looks around. Bruce hums and shows him the door to the bathroom. "Never mind, this place is definitely bigger than my apartment. Is that a bathtub?"</p><p>"Yes," Bruce looks between the bathtub and Hal. "If you were genuine about the urge to go out for dinner, I was thinking we leave at eight?"</p><p>"Uhu, sure, we can do that," Hal says, but he is eyeing the bathtub as if it's a fine steak. </p><p>"I'll leave you to it then," Bruce says with a grin and leaves the room. He doesn't see Hal again for hours, and when he does, it's right before they are set to leave for the restaurant. </p><p>"Should I be worried?" Hal asks from the doorway to Bruce's room. He looks up from the latest text from Clark (<strong>Good luck on your Date🤞🤞😏😏😁😉</strong>) and turns to look at Hal, who is holding a tie in one hand and his jacket in the other. </p><p>"I see the suit fit," Bruce comments, and Hal looks up at him.</p><p>"Yeah, that's the thing. It fit perfectly." He gives Bruce a <em>look</em>. "So should I be worried about the fact that you have my measurement in a file somewhere in your head?"</p><p>"Not my file." Bruce steps forward and takes the jacket out of Hal's hand. "Put the tie on. We're going to be late."</p><p>"Not your file?" Hal loops the tie over his head. "Then who's file?"</p><p>"Tim's."</p><p>"Tim the stalker?" Hal squints at him as he ties the knot. "It sounds like something you would do. Are you sure he is not related to you?"</p><p>"We're sure, he did a DNA test," Bruce eyes the knot Hal has made. "May I redo that?"</p><p>"I- Sure," Hal tries to look down, but Bruce gently tilts his head up again so he can get access to the knot. Bruce's knuckles brush against Hal's throat, and there is a slightly awkward silence between them before Hal frowns. "Wait, <em>Tim</em> did a DNA test?"</p><p>"Yes, he freaked himself out with one of his conspiracy theories," Bruce explains. He finishes up the knot and runs a hand down the tie to make it lay flat. </p><p>"Do I even want to know?" Hal asks. His eyes following the path of Bruce's hands.</p><p>Bruce pauses and rearranges his thoughts. "Tim runs a Twitter conspiracy account-"</p><p>"No!" Hal's eyes go wide. "Don't tell me he is the one that runs the <em>'Bruce Wayne is Batman, the butt matches'</em> account?"</p><p>"He is not. That account has been around since before he was Robin," Bruce tells him. He hesitates slightly but dismisses the thought. He can tell Hal later. "But one of his favorites is the<em> 'all the Robin's are clones' </em>theory."</p><p>"I haven't heard that one," Hal looks down at his shirt sleeves and tries to fasten the cufflinks. Bruce holds out a hand. Hal eyes it, and after a moment, he sighs and hands his arm over.</p><p>"According to Tim's conspiracy theory, all the Robins are clones of me." Bruce fastens the cufflink and holds out his hand for Hal's other hand. There is a slight blush high on Hal's cheek as he complies. "And that I grow them in a lab somewhen and pull them out as the current one gets too old."</p><p>Hal gaps at him, blush forgotten. "Why on earth-"</p><p>"All the Robins are dark-haired, blue-eyed boys, and if you see a picture of me from that age, we all look ridiculously similar." Bruce frowns to himself. "Except I'm whiter than all of them. Anyway, Tim was explaining this to Dick, who pointed out that Tim is a dark-haired, blue-eyed boy, and that out of all of my kids, he is the most similar in personality to me." He grimaces. "Which is not always a good thing."</p><p>"So Tim decided to do a DNA test? Christ, your life, man, it fucking ridiculous." Hal says as he runs a hand down his face. </p><p>Bruce decided not to mention that Tim had not said anything to him about what he was going to do and that Bruce had woken up in the middle of the night with Tim standing over him, needle raised. </p><p>There had been shouting, tears, and wild punches had been thrown. Tim had been distressed too, but he had calmed down once he got his pint of blood. </p><p>Humming in agreement, Bruce motions for Hal to turn around.</p><p>"You know I can dress myself, right?" Hal asks, but he turns his back to Bruce anyway.</p><p>"I'm sure you can, but allow me." He slides the jacket up Hal's arms, straightens the collar, and steps back to judge the result.</p><p>"Do I pass muster?" Hal jokes with a grin.</p><p>Bruce has to clear his throat twice before he gets the words out, and even then, they come out more sincere than he had planned. "You're beautiful."</p><p>Hal raises an eyebrow at him, but luckily for Bruce, Alfred chooses that moment to make his presence known by clearing his throat pointedly but politely. "Master Bruce, the car is here."</p><p>"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce says, takes the coats the butler is holding, and ushers Hal out of the room. Alfred gives him a pointed look as he passes, but Bruce ignores it. He'll deal with that later.</p><p>As they reach the bottom of the stairs, Jason pops up from nowhere and points his phone at them. "Say cheese!"</p><p>Bruce, instincts honed after years of being hounded by the paparazzi, slings an arm around Hal and leans in to kiss him on the cheek. Hal, lacking the same instincts, turns his head towards Bruce, so what was supposed to be a kiss on the cheek ended up more at the corner of his mouth.</p><p>Pulling back, Bruce blinks at Hal and clears his throat. "Jason, what are you doing."</p><p>"Aww, did I capture your first kiss on cam? That's so cute," Jason says and takes a few more pictures. </p><p>"Jason!"</p><p>"It's for the gram, B. Cheer up, would you." Jason looks down on his phone and starts scrolling.</p><p>Bruce rubs at his eyes. "Do not post it to Instagram, Jason. That's-"</p><p>"Isn't that the entire point of this," Jason asks and glances between Bruce and Hal. "To make your relationship public."</p><p>"Yes-"</p><p>"It's fine, B," Hal says, and Bruce can't help but frown at him.</p><p>"I need you to understand that there is no going back from this, Hal," Bruce says and holds Hal's gaze. "All the pictures of us so far have been mostly off me; your face has not been clearly seen in any of them. This" - he features at Jason.- "can not be undone. You won't be able to back out."</p><p>Hal looks back at him and smiles softly. "I think it's too late for that."</p><p>"But it's not." Bruce protests. "We can still cancel the reservations."</p><p>"That's not what I was talking about, but it's nice of you to offer," Hal smiles. He holds Bruce's eyes for another long moment before he looks away and heads over to Jason. "Show me the pictures; we'll see which one is good enough to post."</p><p>Bruce closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He doesn't understand what Hal is talking about, but does it matter? He trusts Hal to know his own mind, and he has never had any problem telling Bruce where to stick it before. He opens his eyes and looks at his son and the man he- Bruce pauses and rearranges his thoughts.</p><p>"Let's not use that one. I look like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car," Hal comments, and Jason snorts.</p><p>"Not the words I would have used, but alright," Jason says. Bruce shakes his head, walks up behind Hal, and helps him into his coat. Jason gives him a pointed stare, but Bruce ignores it as Jason gets pulled back into his conversation with Hal. </p><p>"Do you have an Instagram account I can tag you with?"</p><p>Hal pauses. "I think so. There are mostly pictures of planes on it, but there might be some of Oliver too."</p><p>"Good, we can use that as a backstory," Jason hands the phone over and lets Hal tag himself in the photo.</p><p>"I think that is actually how we first met, outside of uniform," Hal says, and Bruce shakes his head.</p><p>"No, there was the Wayne Enterprise Galla a couple of years before that," Bruce meets Hal's confused gaze. "We had contracted Ferries Air to test some of our planes, and we invited her and a plus one to the party."</p><p>"Huh, your right. It was before I got my ring, but I don't remember you," Hal says.</p><p>"It's fine. Now that the photo session is over, can we leave? I hate to leave Sam waiting," Bruce tells them and holds the front door open for Hal.</p><p>"Sam?" Hal asks as he joins Bruce at the door.</p><p>"My driver."</p><p>"Ah, of course," Hal turns to wave at Jason. "Nice seeing you again, Jason."</p><p>"Have a good evening, stay safe." Jason waves back. "We expect you back before midnight, and remember to use protection. We don't want any more Robin's running around."</p><p>Hal laughs as Bruce's ears go red. "Good night, Jason," Bruce says and closes the doors.</p><p>--</p><p>The date goes well. The restaurant is a success, the food is terrific, and Hal seems to enjoy himself immensely. The conversation flows freely, and it continues on the way back to the manor. As Bruce slides out of the car after Hal, he leans back to say goodby to Sam, and when he straightens up, Hal gives him a look.</p><p>"What?" Bruce asks.</p><p>"Did you just tip Sam over a hundred dollars?"</p><p>"Yes," Bruce slides his hands into his pockets as the car drives away. "I used to only tip around fifty, but then Jason…" He shrugs. "Let's just say Jason happened, and I changed my ways."</p><p>"You-" Hal bursts out laughing, and Bruce can't help but smile at him. He lets his eyes follow the shape of Hal's mouth, his nose, his neck, and when he drags his eyes back up to Hal's eyes, he finds him already looking back at him. They stare at each other for a long while until Hal, the man without fear, steps closer and lifts a hand to lay it against Bruce's cheek.</p><p>"May I?" Hal asks, voice low, and Bruce can't speak, so he nods, and then Hal is kissing him. It's soft and chased. Bruce wants more immediately, so he deepens it. His phone vibrates with an incoming text, but Bruce ignores it. He can deal with that later. After several minutes, they pull back, and Hal smiles at him. His lips are kiss swollen, and Bruce can't tear his eyes away.</p><p>"I-" Bruce clears his throat. "I was going to ask you to join me for a nightcap, but.."</p><p>"But?"</p><p>"But I kind of want to skip the drink and move the night right along," Bruce says and slides his hands in under Hal's coat to better feel him.</p><p>"I can be persuaded," Hal says with a smirk.</p><p>There is a polite cough from the door, and when Bruce turns to look, he is met with an unimpressed Alfred.</p><p>"Master Bruce, might I suggest you move this out of the driveway?" He raises an eyebrow at them. "And I would like to inform you that ALL of your kids are here."</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>"Oh, indeed. Mister Jordan," Alfred shifts his gaze to Hal, who straightens up and meets Alfred's eyes evenly. The butler's lips twitched up as he eyes Hal's hair. "I would like to welcome you to the family."</p><p>"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce says as Hal smiles sheepishly and steps back to run a hand over his hair. Not that it does much. Bruce had been very thorough. </p><p>"Ready to meet the rest of them?" Bruce asks.</p><p>"No, not really," Hal runs his eyes up and down Bruce and smirks. "But as I said, I can be persuaded."</p><p>Bruce grins and takes Hal's hand to lead him into the manor. "Luckily for me, I can be very persuading."</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>